I think there's a place for both. The triple on my touring/rain beast is nice to have. I found myself using the lowest gear on that up a 15% grade the other day, and I was grateful to have it. Triples are very handy on mountain bikes, too.

But on my go-fast, weight weenie bike, I think a compact double is a simpler solution to the gear question. Small ring for the "real" climbs, big ring for everything else. What's a real climb? That's subjective, of course. My definition is about 6% or more, lasting more than a couple minutes.